Peaches in heavy syrup...though with minimal sweetness. Good contrasting minerality makes it interesting. No floral notes which is nice for a change. Mouthfeel is above average. Enjoyable tea overall.

How do you find the DTH Phoenix teas Puerking? How do they hold up to other vendor's in term of quality in regards to the price? I'm asking because I haven't had the opportunity to try many Phoenix teas yet.

I got myself some snow orchid phoenix oolong about a year ago from DTH, my first venture into phoenix teas. I found the tea pleasant but a little harsh at places (when overbrewed) that accentuated the roast flavour in the first couple of infusions that I was not too fond of.

However had an urge to drink this tea the other day and brewed it up in 100 ml gaiwan. Had a mighty fine session. Mouthfeel, kuwei, huigan, all very good. Like a good raw puerh in terms of energy and mouthfeel, but with a great fruity oolong taste. The tea seemed to have mellowed out perfectly after a year on the shelf, the slightly off roast-flavour had completely dissipated. Really enjoyed the tea. Tried again two days later in a smaller gaiwan, now did not work out that well this time. I think a lot of it down to the fact that the first time I used just the right amount of tea, plus a too small gaiwan can be real finicky.

To be honest this is the first dancong I've tried from them. I would rate it above average compared to others, but for the price you wouldn't necessarily expect it to be on the top end. I have had the same experience with both dancongs and yancha....keeping them around for six months, a year and even two...can really improve them as the roast subsides.

Likewise your experience with brewing has been mine. I find if I brew in my 80 or 100ml gaiwan my results are more erratic, but with my 120ml gaiwan I hit the mark more often.

I mean for the price of the DTH Dan congs I knew fully well what I got it was far from a high-end tea, but the day when the tea came out really well It shure felt a lot more like a higher quality tea than the 17 dollar / 100 g I paid for it. So maybe not always a bad idea to let some teas sit away in the cupboard

Will save some of my recently bought yancha and see how it develops after some time of sitting. Also interesting notion that the size of the brewing vessel seemingly might be able to impact the brew. Will explore this a bit more.

2012 Ben Shan from TeaTrekker, my first of this kind. I think this is my favorite roasted oolong so far, and it's only lightly roasted. Also, I think that I now know what is meant by "stone fruit" flavor. Fun stuff.

I had an excellent last session of 2011 Tie Lou Han form the Mandarins Tea Room. Sadly while it was good, it could have been better, the bag had gotten crushed while in my possession so there were quite a few broken bits in the brew, making the first two brews incredible, but the later brews lacking slightly.

Today I started with Bai Yun from Norbu, fruity/chocolatey/sweet; now finishing a session with Imperial TGY from Yunnan Sourcing, sweet/floral. Will end the tea Day with some toasty deep roasted bancha, I think....

I am intentionally brewing it strong, but initial impression is slightly sour even though it is a freshly opened pack. A little lack luster, as though the several years have not been good to it. Still a decent bit of roast, but no where near as when fresh.

Unknown special reserve high mountain oolong that I was gifted from the owner of my favorite chinese restaurant when I had my birthday dinner there. Quite fragrant. Definitely had that high altitude thing going.

2012 winter harvest Shan Lin Xi Hong Shui roasted version from Teamasters.Very good tea. Heavy lingering on the breath. Not dissapointed with this one! Brewed up in gaiwan for a neutral first try. Going to be interesting to experiment with some different brewing parameters and also see how it fares in yixing.

Some more of the Tea Gallery High Fired Tie Guan Yin. Rather nice set up, I wish it wasn't far to dark to take photos. I am using the two Guinomi I formed, but were glazed and fired by Shawn at Greenwood Studios.

Mountain Tea's Imperial Pearl: startlingly different as it is at every drinking--dark but so fruity and yes, like the best part of brandy (but without the alcohol/liquor taste that I dislike so much): wonderful stuff.